I had the chance to attend this summit that was held yesterday, in St Paul, in honor of kicking off Manufacturers week.
In addition to hearing Ms. Victoria Holt (CEO) of Proto Labs speak of the “confluence” of software and hardware in the manufacturing process, Mr. Doug Loon (MN Chamber President) spoke concerning a few highlights as to the State (of MN).
He had summarized the years as follows:
- 2014 – Built on earlier advances (i.e. 2012)
- 2015 – A good year, but not as good as 2014
- 2016 – Better than 2015, slowed by strong US $, high taxes and inadequate workforce skills
He had indicated they will be addressing all of the policy parts to insure it will be a good year;
- Education of young people to know the possibilities of manufacturing careers
- Educators not in sync with economic change
- Employers have not adapted hiring practices
- Housing–good jobs, but no place to live
- Classes of workers not able to work
The session ended with a panel discussion on Workforce Solutions which, unfortunately, I had to miss.
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